Don't use more money than you need to create the income you want.
- Serious Money Ohio
- Mar 30
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 30
If your retirement nest egg of $250,000 currently gives you $10,000 a year in retirement income - would you prefer to get the same $10,000 in annual income from $150,000 - and keep $100,000 liquid?
$100,000 of additional liquidity for:
Flexibility when an emergency happens (roof, medical, family help)
Opportunity dollars for market investments or future income needs
Enjoying travel, experiences or gifting.
When your income is covered, your liquid dollars can live a little.
Right now I am helping retirees across Northwest Ohio use a reliable approach to meet their income needs and have more liquidity.
For the "efficient income" portion of your nest egg, you should know about an insured option for reliable lifetime income - fixed index annuities.
Fixed index annuities with lifetime income riders promise to pay you a fixed payment for life and are highly efficient due to the levels of income they offer.
These income riders are designed to maximize payout efficiency. Especially when you start at older ages.
The strategy is simple and powerful - with an income annuity doing the "heavy lifting" for income - the rest of your money doesn't have to.
Exactly how little money do you have to commit to an annuity to get the income you want?
Let's use our example above, a retiree with $250,000 in his nest egg and generating $10,000 a year in retirement income.
How would an annuity compare today? These are benefit amounts available in April 2026.
Once you lock in a payment amount it is fixed for your life or for a joint-lifetime.
To generate $10,000 a year in retirement income a 65-year-old would have to deposit around $135,000 in the annuity - leaving around $115,000 liquid of the $250,000 available.
A 70-year-old would need to deposit $121,000 into an annuity - leaving around $129,000 liquid.
A 75-year-old would require a $112,000 annuity deposit - leaving around $138,000 liquid.
To guarantee the $!0,000 in annual income for a couple, slightly larger deposits are required. In these examples, the $10,000 of annual income is paid until the death of the surviving spouse - for two lifetimes.
If both spouses are age 65 the amount needed is $148,000, two spouses at age 70 the annuity deposit is $130,000 and for two spouses at age 75 $121,000.
The most efficient income strategy isn't the one that uses the most money...it's the one that uses the least.
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